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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28724814">Johnny and The Devil</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sid_Gal/pseuds/Sid_Gal'>Sid_Gal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bisexual Male Character, Curses, Demon Blood, Demon/Human Relationships, Demons, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, Half-Human, Homelessness, Human/Vampire Relationship, Kidnapping, Loss of Identity, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Multi, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Female/Female Relationships, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Separations, Vampires</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:41:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,153</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28724814</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sid_Gal/pseuds/Sid_Gal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard<br/>'Cause Hell's broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals the cards<br/>And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold<br/>But if you lose, the devil gets your soul...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Silhouette</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My modern day interpretation of the Charlie Daniels song "Devil Went Down to Georgia" (from 1979).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a dark and rainy night in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.</p><p>	Johnny carelessly allowed the heavy rain to soak his disheveled blond hair and clothing.</p><p>	He didn’t even care if a car came by and it’s tires splashed him with more water.</p><p>	Johnny was used to that sort of lifestyle. The kind that was quiet, cold and lonesome. The kind where it seems that all of your emotions have been drained out of your body. The kind where being alone had eventually become the norm and you didn’t care how long it was going to be that way.</p><p>     	After staring blankly into the navy blue sky while sitting on a wet curb, Johnny turned his head to the violin case next to him and slowly grabbed it before setting it down onto his lap.</p><p>     	Johnny unlocked the violin case, and opened it, where his prized possession laid.</p><p>	He stared down at his fiddle, taking a moment to admire his instrument before sighing and pulling it out of its case.</p><p>	Johnny set the violin case down beside him, and left it open for a potential passersby to drop some change into it.</p><p>     	Johnny then positioned himself so that he’d be ready to play the violin; holding the violin up to his face and lightly leaning his chin onto the chin rest. After doing so, he silently began thinking of what song to perform.</p><p>     	After thinking about this for a moment, Johnny finally nodded to himself and started tuning his instrument before he began to play his chosen melody.</p><p>	Not only did he play the violin on the streets everyday to survive, but he also chose to sing along with the soothing melodies that he performed for the denizens of Atlanta.</p><p>	The song he chose portrayed the type of despair that resonated with him. The despair that one felt when they think that all hope was lost for them and that waiting for things to get better was just worthless and a waste of time. </p><p>	This severe emptiness that Johnny felt, had originated from when he was first delivered to the orphanage by a teenage couple.</p><p>	Johnny was just an infant when he was given away to a local foster home.</p><p>	Unfortunately, Johnny has never been adopted since the first day he arrived at his foster home.</p><p>	While growing up with the other orphans, Johnny gradually became bored and dissatisfied with the life he had in that building.</p><p>	Him and the other children were often doing the same chores, activities, and went on the same old field trips very often.</p><p>	The foster home was also very lacking. Lacking an exciting and lively atmosphere. </p><p>	Which was solely the reason why Johnny decided to sneak out of the orphanage one night and run away once he reached the age of 16. </p><p>	There came a point in his life where he finally had an epiphany. Why was he wasting his life in this barren building? How much longer till he would finally get adopted? Would anybody even adopt someone his age?</p><p>……..</p><p>“No. Probably not. It is a rare occurrence that anybody would decide to adopt a teenager.” he thought to himself.</p><p>	It’s been about 5 weeks since Johnny had escaped from his boring, distasteful life. </p><p> </p><p>     	     After Johnny had finished playing and singing his song, he sighed and glanced down at the case beside him.</p><p>	Thankfully, the case had just been filled with a few dollars and enough change to get a sandwich and a bottled drink.</p><p>	While he was both appreciative and very relieved that he wouldn’t have to starve himself, Johnny was still feeling down in the dumps more than anything.</p><p>	At this point, he started to feel an overwhelming amount of despair and doubt. There were many times where Johnny would both doubt and question his self worth. Wondering why he just had to be given away to a dull and boring foster home. Wondering why he lived in that foster home his entire life. Wondering why he “didn’t seem worthy enough” to be adopted. Wondering why no one wanted him. Wondering if… maybe *he* was the problem and that something might’ve been wrong with *him*.</p><p>	While having these troubling thoughts stirring in his head, Johnny quietly shed a tear and set his violin down into his lap.</p><p>	Unbeknownst to him, while Johnny was quietly sitting on the curb with his head lowered, there have been three other people watching him from behind.</p><p>They’ve been watching him from a dark alleyway in between two buildings.</p><p>     	These three were actually floating behind him, and they all looked at each other with menacing grins before they all flew up into the night sky.</p><p>     	As these three creatures were flying through the sky, one of them, who had raven black hair, put her hand out in front of her.</p><p>           Suddenly, a red glowing outline of a pentagram appeared on the palm of her hand, before a magic ray of red light shot out of it and transformed into a giant portal in front of these three magical beings.</p><p>     	These creatures all flew straight into the portal, and the portal closed and disappeared once they flew into it.</p><p>     	The three were now flying through the underworld, on their way to the castle of hell.</p><p>     	These three were called hell nymphs, and they all worked for and worshipped the devil himself, otherwise known as the ruler of hell.</p><p>     	The hell nymphs had 12 feet of long hair that all three of them wore down.</p><p>	Their hair always floated from their heads.</p><p>     	Each of these hell nymphs had also represented a negative trait, making them the emblems of these negative traits.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Hell Nymphs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The introduction and background for the Hell Nymphs! :)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One of them had white hair, pale skin, and had black eyeballs with glowing red pupils in them.</p><p>         This white haired hell nymph also had a large jaw full of razor sharp teeth.</p><p>         She always showed off her razor sharp teeth, since she often wore a wide smile across her face.</p><p>         Her name was Chaos, and she was the emblem of destruction.</p><p>Chaos usually wore a white turtleneck dress with no sleeves, no socks, and no shoes.</p><p>         Chaos was very wild, reckless, energetic, psychotic, bloodlust, and took pleasure and amusement in violence.</p><p> </p><p>         Next, was Terror, who was the emblem of fear and darkness.</p><p>         Terror had raven black hair, pasty white skin, and big dark blue eyes.</p><p>         Terror wore an off the shoulder, dark blue dress, and wore no socks or shoes.</p><p>         Terror was usually very subdued, and seductive towards her human victims.</p><p>              Terror used her manipulation and seductive charms whenever she had to trick someone, before stealing their souls.</p><p> </p><p>         The last one was the leader of the three hell nymphs; Scorpion.</p><p>         Scorpion was the emblem of pain.</p><p>         Scorpion had bright red hair, pasty white skin, and had red colored eyes.</p><p>She wore a black tank top dress over a short sleeved dark gray dress, wore a black choker, and wore no socks or shoes either.</p><p>         Scorpion had an overwhelming amount of uncontrollable rage, and was angered very easily.</p><p>         She was also very strict on following the devil’s rules and orders.</p><p>         If her and the other hell nymphs had gotten into any trouble with the devil, or messed up in any way, then she would start to throw a fit and act very worrisome and panicky.</p><p> </p><p>         Another thing about this group is that they weren’t always a group of three.</p><p>         Originally, the hell nymphs were a group of four, until one of them quit their job, and never returned.</p><p> </p><p>     While the three hell nymphs were flying through hell, Chaos sighed after groaning anxiously.</p><p>         “Oh, c’mon, guys!!” Chaos said, “Why did we have to leave him?! We couldn’t just have one more soul?”</p><p>         “We’ve had enough poor unfortunate souls for today.” said Scorpion, “And we’ve spent enough time up there! If we stayed longer, then the king might grow very suspicious and get incredibly furious with us!! Who knows what shit he may put us through!!”</p><p>         “Oh, you need to take a chill pill, Scorpion!!” said Chaos, “Cause’ it sounds to me like someone worries about Satan too much!!” she then teased.</p><p>         “Shut up, Chaos!!” Scorpion said, as Chaos chuckled, “We *should* be worried!! In fact, this was YOUR fault to begin with!! If you hadn’t forgotten about asking for his permission to be up there, then I wouldn’t have been acting this way right now!!”</p><p>         Scorpion smacked herself on the forehead, and groaned in frustration.</p><p>         “How foolish of you to make this mistake!!” she exclaimed, “How could you have forgotten such an important thing, Chaos?!! Why did this have to happen?!!”</p><p>“Hey I had a rough night last night, give me a break.” Chaos said with a careless shrug.</p><p>“How can you be so careless?!” Scorpion said, while making threatening gestures at Chaos.</p><p>         “Well, perhaps he didn’t notice…” Terror said with a shrug, “We shouldn’t just jump to conclusions. Maybe he knows nothing of it! Maybe he doesn’t even know that we left!”</p><p>         Scorpion finally sighed and tried to calm herself.</p><p>         “Very well…” said Scorpion, “Let’s just… hope that he doesn’t… know anything...”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Devil and his Daughter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Introduction and background on Satan and Satan's daughter.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I apologize for just having more explanations and information on the backgrounds of these characters rather than writing a chapter where something happens lol, the next chapter won't be like this. Again, I apologize if this is boring for anyone. </p><p>(Also, if anyone keeps seeing the same ending note on each chapter, I don't know why that keeps happening. That ending note is supposed to only be found at the end of the first chapter, but for some reason it's not working out that way. I can't even edit it out of these other chapters, wtf)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The underworld was ruled by the most powerful and ruthless demon in hell. </p><p>     	The devil’s name was Valafar, and he was the grandson of Lucifer himself.</p><p>     	Valafar was pale, had red colored eyes, had long raven black hair, and had a long beard to go along with it.</p><p>	He also had tall black ram horns on top of his head, had a long black devil’s tail, had fangs, and had long black claws at the tips of his fingers.</p><p> </p><p>     	Valafar was a single father to his only daughter, who was often found silently sitting right beside his throne in Valafar’s throne chamber.</p><p>     	His daughter’s name was Jezebeth, and she was the devil’s only child.</p><p>     	Jezebeth was currently 13 years old, and she shared the same traits as her father.</p><p>	She was rude, cruel, and disrespectful to her royal subjects. She also had an intimidating aura about her. In fact, she was so terrifying to the point that any royal subject or demon in hell would get goosebumps and shiver just by looking at her, whether it was in person or even looking at a picture of her.</p><p>Jezebeth had short and messy purple hair that she wore down, had pale skin, had fangs, and had eyes where her right eye was colored red and her left eye was just a plain black eyeball with no pupils.</p><p>     	Jezebeth wore a short sleeve light purple dress that had black stripes going down the skirt area and had ripped up sleeves, wore a black suit vest, wore a pair of long white stockings, wore a pair of dark purple mary janes with black upside down cross symbols on them, wore four long black fingerless gloves on all four of her arms, and wore a black choker around her throat, with a small red gemstone hanging from it.</p><p>     	The choker that Jezebeth wore had belonged to her late mother, who passed away when Jezebeth was only 4 years old.</p><p>     	The devil’s wife was a fellow demon named Prosperine, and she had tragically passed away from an ailment.</p><p>     	Everyone in hell absolutely adored the queen and worshipped her and they were always thankful to have her as one of their rulers. She was very much loved by everyone around her.</p><p>     	Prosperine was kind, beauteous, level-headed, courteous, composed, very wise, and was very persuasive.</p><p>     	Valafar has been very impatient with his subjects, and had high levels of uncontrollable rage ever since his beloved spouse had passed away.</p><p>     	Unfortunately, his wife was no longer there to calm him down while ruling the kingdom alongside him.</p><p> </p><p>     	Ever since Prosperine died, Valafar had never bothered to hire a caretaker or a nanny for his child, and decided to raise Jezebeth himself and dedicate the majority of his time raising his daughter. </p><p>          It was possible that this led to the reason why Jezebeth shared the same attitude and traits with him.</p><p>         	Valafar was known for being a black hearted, cruel, ferocious, and wicked being, ever known to man and demons.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Missing Pop Star</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Johnny visits a local diner and finds out that one of his favorite pop stars are still reported missing, after their strange and sudden disappearance that occurred a few months prior.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After eating a granola bar that Johnny had bought with the money he earned on the streets that night, he sighed and finally picked up his bags and violin case, and walked away from his spot on the curb.</p><p>     	As Johnny was walking through the city sidewalks, he turned his head to a giant restaurant window, and stopped to glance at a family of three laughing at their table.</p><p>     	The family was a married couple and their son who looked about 4 years old.</p><p>     	The son coincidently had blond hair just like Johnny, and Johnny watched as the boy’s father gently laid his hand on top of his son’s head, and rubbed his blond hair, as the family kept on laughing.</p><p>     	Johnny let out a somber sigh after watching the family spend their night in that restaurant, and continued walking through the city.</p><p> </p><p>     	After walking for a while, Johnny also stopped by the giant window of an electronic store.</p><p>He quietly stood right in front of the giant window and stared at the various television screens that were stacked in a way that filled the entire window.</p><p>Every television screen was simultaneously playing the exact same channel as one another.</p><p>     	The channels were currently playing a music video of a 17 year old girl singing a pop song.</p><p>     	Johnny was actually a fan of this popular pop song artist, so he decided to stay where he was, and watch the entire music video, just because he really had nothing else better to do.</p><p>     	Well, he *never* really had anything to do for that matter.</p><p>     	The singer’s name was Carly Ambrose.</p><p>     	Carly began her singing career as an internet sensation. Her videos of singing covers to popular songs had skyrocketed and would eventually lead her into becoming an official pop star with her own manager, her own security guards, her own original albums, etcetera.</p><p> </p><p>     	Johnny ended up setting down his bags and violin in front of the store window, and ended up sleeping on the sidewalk, right below that store window.</p><p>Johnny was sure to bring a sleeping bag with him on the night that he ran away, so he tucked himself in; enough so that his head was the only thing coming out of the sleeping bag, and closed his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     	The next morning, Johnny had woken up only to realize that he had overslept.</p><p>     	Johnny glanced up at the sky before tiredly pulling out his cell phone to check what time it was.</p><p>He’d woken up at 11:30 a.m.</p><p>Finally, Johnny weakly opened his dark green eyes and stretched his arms out.</p><p>     	After rubbing his tired eyes awake, Johnny scratched the back of his head and groaned.</p><p>     	Johnny looked at his surroundings, and took a moment to process what was going on around him before slowly sliding out of his sleeping bag and standing up on his feet.</p><p>Johnny deeply inhaled the fresh morning air, before letting out a sigh and crouching down to one of his duffle bags.</p><p>Johnny unzipped his duffle bag and took out another granola bar before zipping the bag back up again.</p><p>     	After gathering all of his belongings while holding the corner of his granola bar in his mouth, Johnny proceeded to walk through the city.</p><p>     	Suddenly, a truck came by and splashed a puddle of water onto Johnny, since the tires ran over the leftover puddle from last night’s rain.</p><p>     	Johnny paused as the water was splashed onto him, and took a deep breath out of vexation.</p><p>     	Johnny suddenly turned his head to the other side of the street, and spotted a diner there.</p><p>     	Johnny decided to walk over to the diner from across the street, and enter the building.</p><p>     	Johnny looked around as he entered the food joint, and quietly walked over and sat down at a bar table.</p><p>     	The bartender walked over to where Johnny was sitting, and stood in front of him while drying a glass cup with a washcloth.</p><p>     	“Alright, what can I get you?” he asked while glancing up at Johnny.</p><p>     	“Uh…” Johnny said, before lifting his index finger, “Hold up.”</p><p>     	Johnny then bent down under the table from his chair, and reached down towards the floor for his violin case.</p><p>     	Johnny grabbed his violin case, and hauled it onto his lap.</p><p>	The bartender caught sight of this and seemed to take an interest.</p><p>     	“Oooh, you play?” said the bartender.</p><p>     	“Yeah…” said Johnny, while looking through his case for the money he earned on the streets, “Nothing like entertainment and music for a living.”</p><p>     	“Ah so it’s a career, eh?” the bartender said while setting a hand onto his hip, “Where do you play exactly? Who do you play music for?”  </p><p>     	“The citizens.” said Johnny, “I play on the streets for them.”</p><p>The bartender immediately dropped his polite smile and awkwardly glanced off to the side.</p><p>     	“Oh…” said the bartender, not so sure how to react to this, “Uh… i- is that so...?”</p><p>     	“Let’s see…” said Johnny, still searching for enough cash.</p><p>     	Once Johnny counted all the money that he had, he looked up at the billboard of food options to choose from.</p><p>     	“Uh…” he said, “Can I just have some of that Diet Coke and a cheeseburger without the lettuce?”</p><p>     	“Uh, yeah! Sure thing kid!” said the bartender.</p><p>     	After giving one last glance back at Johnny with a look of concern in his eyes, the bartender turned away and walked out into the kitchen, while calling out the food orders to his employees.</p><p>     	Johnny pushed the cash that he had out in front of him for the bartender to take when he returned, and began rhythmically tapping his fingers onto the counter as he sat and waited quietly for his food.</p><p>     	Johnny sighed and looked at his surroundings, not knowing what to do.</p><p>     	Suddenly, Johnny got the idea to pull out his iPod and headphones from one of his duffel bags and put them on.</p><p>     	Johnny then began listening to one of Carly’s songs.</p><p>     	As Johnny was drumming his fingers to the beat on the counter and nodding his head to the music he was listening to, Johnny suddenly glanced up at the T.V. hanging above the counter, and saw that a photo of Carly singing at a concert was shown at the upper right hand corner of the screen on the news channel, as a female news reporter was speaking.</p><p>     	Underneath the photo that was being shown, was a caption reading Carly’s full name, and then a headline at the bottom of the screen reading; “TEENAGE POP STAR CARLY AMBROSE STILL REPORTED MISSING!”</p><p>     	Johnny was a bit shocked at the announcement that he saw on the news and began taking off his headphones, now wearing it around his neck.</p><p>     	“Are you serious?” he quietly said to himself, after pausing the music on his iPod, “She’s still missing?”</p><p>     	“The teenage Pop Star singer and internet sensation, beloved by all her fans, is still reported missing! It has now been over two months since the police department received a call from her manager claiming that she was nowhere to be found, right after she walked offstage from one of her performances.” said the news woman on television. </p><p>     	The scene on the television changed, now showing a pre recorded interview with the pop star’s manager.</p><p>     	“I- I still remember it like it was yesterday; I- I was panicking, I- I mean, we- we had another concert to go to, a- and we had a lot going on and all of a sudden I- I was searching and searching everywhere for her backstage!” her manager said in a nervous and panicked tone, “And then I searched for her in her trailer and other possible settings… I- I called her cell phone countless times but she never picked up, and I kept asking a bunch of people if they knew where she was a- and then I started calling her family members and everyone else that she knew, after her family gave me their phone numbers…”</p><p>     	The scene changed back to the reporter.</p><p>     	“Everyone; family, friends, and fans, are all wondering where she could possibly be.” said the newswoman, “Even online, people are tweeting, texting, using Instagram, Facebook, and other social platforms, while hash tagging her name and asking where she could be? We are all very worried and devastated about her strange and sudden disappearance, but now it is time to move on with the daily weather forecast, from Wendy Burns.”</p><p>     	“Damn…” said Johnny.</p><p>     	Finally, the bartender returned to the counter, holding the tray of Johnny’s food, before serving it to him.</p><p>     	“Here you are kid.” he said.</p><p>     	The bartender looks down at the cash that was laid out in front of Johnny, and grabs it off of the counter before turning away.</p><p>           “Thanks.” Johnny said to the bartender.</p><p>     	Johnny looks down at his burger, puts his headphones back on, picks up his burger, and starts taking a bite as he continues listening to his iPod.</p><p>     	Suddenly, a young man walks into the building and stands in front of the doorway with his head lowered towards the floor.</p><p>     	The bartender came back to the counter so he could wave and greet the customer who had just entered his diner.</p><p>     	“Oh! It’s you!” he said, “Nice to see you again!”</p><p>     	Johnny could still hear the bartender through his headphones, so he turned around to take a glance at whom the bartender was greeting.</p><p>     	The man at the doorway silently walked over to the bar table, and sat in the seat next to Johnny.</p><p>     	The man wore a black fedora, a dirty black trench coat, a pair of long black ripped up pants, a pair of black ripped up gloves, and wore a pair of shiny and pointy black dress shoes.</p><p>     	The man had pale skin, long and messy black hair, and light blue eyes.</p><p>     	At the moment, the rim of the fedora was pulled downwards so it would cover his eyes, unless he raised his head.</p><p>     	Johnny’s eyes scanned the man from head to toe, making sure to analyze every detail of the man’s ripped up clothing.</p><p>	While observing this stranger, Johnny started to wonder if he was destitute or homeless… just like Johnny himself.  </p><p>	The man in the trench coat let out a sigh, that sounded as if he had just run a marathon.</p><p>     	“Yeah well, I’m glad to be here.” the man said to the bartender, “Nothing like a good brewski to satisfy your needs.”     </p><p>The bartender nodded in agreement.</p><p>“Definitely…” he said, “And I assume that you want me to go fetch you one, right?”</p><p>The man in the trenchcoat snapped his fingers and pointed at the bartender with a smirk.</p><p>“You know me well.” he said.</p><p>The bartender let out a soft chuckle.</p><p>“Coming right up.” the bartender said.</p><p>     	With that, the bartender turned and left to prepare the alcohol.</p><p>     	The young man sighed and folded his hands onto the counter, before he suddenly glanced over at Johnny, and noticed him staring.</p><p>	The man’s eyes shifted from side to side before he raised his eyebrow.</p><p>     	“What are you looking at?” he said to Johnny.</p><p>	Johnny didn’t realize how long he had been staring at this man, so he blinked and gave a look of realization.</p><p>     	“Oh! I-...” he said, now feeling embarrassed that he made this man uncomfortable, “Eh- sorry, sorry…” </p><p>	After Johnny turned his head away from the man, the man stared at Johnny a little longer before turning his head away.</p><p>     	The bartender came back and set a mug of root beer down in front of the young man.</p><p>     	“Thanks, buddy.” the young man said, right before he began to dig through his trench coat's pocket, “Now how much do I owe-”</p><p>	“Jagger, how many times do I have to tell you this?” the bartender said, “You don’t have to pay me for your drinks, alright?”</p><p>	“But that doesn’t make any sense,” the young man said, “It’s business ain’t it?”</p><p>	“But you don’t have to worry about stuff like that.” the bartender quietly said to the man, “I owe you one, remember? You just have to accept this as me repaying my debt to you for saving me during that incident.”</p><p>	The young man hesitated to argue, until he finally sighed and began to tuck the money away in his pocket.</p><p>	“You sure about this?” he said, “Humans like you need money to live off of.”</p><p>	The bartender shrugged.</p><p>	“I don’t mind at all.” he said as he shook his head, “Besides, I still get paid by plenty of other customers who stop by here. You’re just the lucky guy who gets free shit, so just... relax, alright?”</p><p>     	Jagger shrugged and began to drink from his mug while the bartender turned away and left.</p><p>Jagger took another glance at Johnny before swallowing his drink and slamming his mug down onto the counter.</p><p>	“You seemed to be pretty intrigued in our conversation…” he said, “I could sense that you were staring at us this entire time.”</p><p>	Johnny was a bit caught off guard, since he didn’t expect this man to say anything else to him… but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in their conversation.</p><p>	“Uh, well…” Johnny said, “I-... I didn’t mean to make it feel like I was… invading your privacy or anything. I- I was just staring off into space, it’s… not like I decided to just stare at you like some kind of creep.”</p><p>	Johnny laughed nervously.</p><p>	“Uh… again, I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.” he said.</p><p>	Jagger held his hand up and shook his head.</p><p>	“No need to apologize.” he said. </p><p>	With this, Jagger proceeded to take another sip out of his mug.</p><p>	Johnny still had the lingering question in his mind about what the bartender had said to Jagger earlier.</p><p>	“I owe you one, remember? You just have to accept this as me repaying my debt to you for saving me during that incident.”</p><p>	Johnny couldn’t help but wonder what on earth that meant. </p><p>	“This homeless man saved him somehow? Wonder what that's all about...”</p><p>	Johnny silently pondered about this to himself, while staring off into space. He was genuinely curious about what ‘incident’ this bartender could’ve been saved from… but he knew that it’d be a bit strange to ask a stranger about their history with someone.</p><p>     	Johnny was suddenly caught off guard when the stranger sitting next him suddenly asked him a question.</p><p>     	“You play the fiddle, kid?” Jagger asked him, right before he took another swig of his beer.</p><p>     	“Huh?” Johnny said while turning his head to give him his attention.</p><p>          Jagger quickly gulped his drink down in order to answer right away.</p><p>     	“You’ve got that violin case there.” he said as he pointed down at Johnny’s case on the floor, underneath the counter.</p><p>     	 Johnny glanced down at the violin case, before giving the man eye contact again.</p><p>     	“Oh, yeah…” he said, “I play.”</p><p>     	“How long have you been doing that?” Jagger asked.</p><p>     	“Uh…” Johnny said while thinking, “Well, I mean… I’ve been learning how to play ever since I was eight. I learned while... living at my foster home.”</p><p>     	“Ah, you’re from a foster home?” said Jagger, “That’s interesting…”</p><p>     	The man takes another sip of his beer and wipes his mouth with his sleeve.</p><p>     	“What are you doing here all alone then?” he asked, “Where are your folks from the foster home? Don’t you guys go on field trips or something and travel as a group?”</p><p>     	“Well we do, but, the thing is…” Johnny said, now starting to give a slight hint of dejection on his face, “A- after awhile… I honestly started to hate that place.”</p><p>	The memories of living in that orphanage made Johnny frown and sigh through his nose.</p><p>“And there’s no way that I’m going back to that shithole.” he said in a bitter tone.</p><p>     	“So, you're a stowaway?” Jagger asked.</p><p>     	As Jagger was asking his question, Johnny had just started biting into his burger and nodded as a response.</p><p>     	“Hm…” Jagger said as he gave a nod, “How do you even manage to take care of yourself out there? Like, what do you do if you need to sleep, huh?”</p><p>     	“I just sleep in my sleeping bag that I carry around.” Johnny said while gesturing down at his bag.</p><p>     	“Ah…” Jagger said with another nod, “And you don’t ever get scared or anything? Like what if someone tried to attack you out of nowhere?”</p><p>     	“Me?” said Johnny, “I’m not really that petrified of the dark. I’m not even that scared of being alone either. I kinda like having time to myself.”</p><p>	Johnny took another bite out of his burger and finished what was in his mouth before answering the second question.</p><p>	“Plus,” he said, “I was lucky enough to not have been attacked or mugged so far. But I guess that if the time ever comes, I’ll just whack em’ in the head with one of my duffle bags.”</p><p>     	 Jagger slowly nodded as he lifted the rim of the mug to his lips.</p><p>     	Jagger then wipes the beer off of his face with his sleeve and sighs. He progressively became more and more sympathetic towards Johnny, the more he spoke to him. In fact, what made him feel even more sympathetic was the fact that Johnny seemed so nonchalant about literally living life on the streets.</p><p>	At this point, he couldn’t help but feel the need to share his own sorrows with Johnny. After all, they both suffered from similar issues.</p><p>     	“Well kid, about the, uh…” he said, “Being a stowaway… I’m actually one myself.”</p><p>     	“Yeah?” Johnny said in a sarcastic tone while eyeing up and down at Jagger’s ragged clothing again. Although it didn’t seem like Jagger noticed the sarcasm in Johnny’s voice.</p><p>     	“Oh, sure.” Jagger said while nodding, “I hated my place too. My family even had certain rules and kept forcing me to do what they wanted. I mean, eventually I realized that I never wanted to do their shit, so… I decided that I would run away to live on my own.”</p><p>     	“Damn…” said Johnny, “That’s rough.”</p><p>     	“Mm hm…” Jagger nodded, taking another sip of his beer.</p><p>     	The guys suddenly both glance up at the television that showed what was previously on the news; the whereabouts of Carly Ambrose.</p><p>     	Jagger took a sip of his beer and sighed.</p><p>     	“She’s still out there, huh?” he said.</p><p>     	“Yeah…” Johnny said in a slightly concerned tone, “I- I can’t even believe that she’s still missing. I mean, it’s already been a couple of months! I really hope that nothing bad happened to her… god, I’m kinda terrified now...”</p><p>     	Jagger glanced at Johnny, glanced at the image of Carly on the TV screen, and then back at Johnny.</p><p>     	“Yeah, well, who knows?” Jagger said with a shrug, “The world can take unexpected turns.”</p><p>     	“Do you think something will happen to her?” Johnny said, now sounding more worried than before, “Something… perilous?”</p><p>     	Jagger stared longingly at the concerned look in Johnny’s eyes and gave a pitying look.</p><p>     	“Can’t say kid.” he replied while shaking his head, “But I sure hope not.”</p><p>     	Johnny watches Jagger in silence, as the man takes his last large sip of beer.</p><p>     	Johnny began thinking about the news once again, since it worried him so much that someone who was popular (not to mention, one of his favorite artists) was now missing for several months without any explanation or context.</p><p>        While those thoughts were running through Johnny’s head, Johnny pushed his empty glass and tray away from himself, before hopping out of his seat and gathering all of his belongings.</p><p>     	Johnny then walked away towards the exit.</p><p>     	The young man turned and watched Johnny as he was leaving the building. </p><p>     	“Hey, Phil…” Jagger said, without giving the bartender any eye contact, “You know that kid?”</p><p>     	“The blond who just left?” the bartender said while gesturing at the front door.</p><p>     	Jagger slowly nodded, without taking his eyes off of the exit.</p><p>     	The bartender; Phil, just shrugs.</p><p>     	“Nope.” he said, “This was the first time we met.”</p><p>     	“Huh…” Jagger said.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Guilty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The hell nymphs are forced to be confronted by the devil himself... and this confrontation ends in a very ugly way.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Meanwhile, in the palace of hell, the intimidating and sinister king was sitting in his throne beside his beloved daughter, Jezebeth.</p><p>     	They both wore their straight and un-amused facial expressions on their face.</p><p>     	The king’s advisor, who was 20 feet tall, was also standing beside him while holding a clipboard and a pen in his hands.</p><p>     	Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the doors to the throne chamber.</p><p>     	“Who is it?” said the king’s advisor.</p><p>     	“Uh… I- it’s… it’s the hell nymphs, sir…” said Scorpion’s voice from behind the door.</p><p>     	The king’s advisor turned his head to the king, and the king hunched over in his seat as he stared at the door.</p><p>     	“You may enter…” the king said in his very deep and sinister tone.</p><p>     	The advisor gave a single nod to the two guards guarding either side of the doors, and the guards opened them, revealing the three hell nymphs.</p><p>     	All three of the hell nymphs slowly floated into the room, and nervously smiled and waved up at the king.</p><p>     	“He- Hello, sire…” said Scorpion, “Ha- how’s your day so far?”</p><p>     	Valafar had only responded with a soft growl, as he raised an eyebrow at his hell nymphs.</p><p>     	Scorpion coughed and continued speaking.</p><p>     	“Uh, g- going well...?” she asked in a nervous tone.</p><p>	Valafar leaned back in his throne and crossed his legs.</p><p>     	“Scorpion... I’ve been expecting your presence.” he said, after letting out a sigh.</p><p>     	“Oh,” Scorpion said, desperately trying her best to hide the fear in her voice, “Re- really?”</p><p>     	“Yes.” said Valafar, “I’ve been meaning to ask you about the souls arriving in hell today.”   </p><p>     	“Uh- oh…” said Scorpion, nervously veering her eyes down towards the marble floor, “Ye- yes, sire...?”</p><p>     	“My hell nymphs…” said Valafar, “How many souls do we have?”</p><p>	Internally panicking, Scorpion glanced around the room, then looked back up at the devil with a nervous grin. Sweat began dripping down the temples of her head.</p><p>     	“Uh…” said Scorpion, “P- pardon...?”</p><p>     	Valafar growled in frustration.</p><p>     	“I said…” he repeated in a slightly stern tone of voice, “How many souls have arrived in hell today?”</p><p>     	“Oh! Souls!” said Scorpion, acting like she wasn’t aware of anything, “Right! Uh… well… a- about the souls…”</p><p>     	“What is it now?” Valafar said, in a firm tone.</p><p>     	“Uh…” said Scorpion, “Wu- well, sir… I uh…”</p><p>          Suddenly, there was a very long pause, until Valafar spoke up and broke the awkward silence.</p><p>     	“Scorpion… I’m beginning to lose my patience…” Valafar said as he began drumming his fingers on the arm of his throne.</p><p>     	“Ye- yes, I’m sorry, sire.” said Scorpion, “Uh, you see… the… souls have… uh…”</p><p>     	“GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!” Valafar exclaimed as he suddenly slammed his fist down on the arm of his throne.</p><p>     	The nymphs started whimpering, and both Terror and Chaos hid behind Scorpion.</p><p>     	Scorpion cleared her throat and chuckled nervously.</p><p>     	“The, uh, souls…” she said, nervously lifting an index finger, “The souls have, uh… have not… been… counted.”</p><p>     	Valafar stares down at the nymphs in silence.</p><p>     	“What?” he said while beginning to glare at them, “You’re telling me that the souls that you’ve been assigned to count, have not… been… COUNTED?!!!!!!”</p><p>     	“Uh, s- sir… we- we’re really sorry…” said Scorpion.</p><p>     	“HOW COULD YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT DOING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITIES OF YOUR JOB?!!!!!” Valafar shouted, as he leaned forward, “HOW COME THIS HAS NOT BEEN DONE ALREADY?!!!!!!!!”</p><p>     	“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh…” said Scorpion.</p><p>     	Terror cleared her throat and decided to take over for her hell nymph leader, since it seemed as if Scorpion was too intimidated and nervous to say anything anymore.</p><p>     	Also, it was obvious that Valafar was already losing his patience with Scorpion by this point.</p><p>     	“Um, sir?” she said, lifting a finger and floating in front of Scorpion, “May I bud in?”</p><p>     	“What is it, Terror?” Valafar said in what sounded like an irritated tone.</p><p>     	“Uh…” said Terror, “Well, sire… what Scorpion is trying to say is that, we… we appeared to have been absent from counting souls today. In fact, we weren’t even in the palace to begin with…”</p><p>     	“WHAT?!!!” the hotheaded Valafar exclaimed, “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!!!!!!”</p><p>     	“Wu- well…” said Terror, “We’ve been roaming around on the surface.”</p><p>     	“The surface?” said Valafar, “Why the hell were you on the surface?”</p><p>     	“We’ve just been wanting to mess around and feed on the mortal’s souls!!” Chaos suddenly chimed in.</p><p>	Chaos let out an uproarious laughter.</p><p>     	“Chaos, what the fuck?! You shouldn’t feel proud about this!! Don’t you see what’s happening right now?!” Scorpion said in a panicking tone, “This is not a laughing matter!! And don’t you DARE drag *us* into *your* mistakes!! It was *your* fault that your dumbass self forgot about-”</p><p>     	“SILENCE!!!!!!” Valafar roared.</p><p>     	The hell nymphs immediately stayed quiet and froze, as their eyes veered up towards Satan.</p><p>     	“Aw, shit…” his advisor said under his breath, as he began to feel sympathy for the hell nymphs.</p><p>     	“You three have been transporting to the surface realm without my permission or knowledge?!!” said Valafar, “Also, leading to the reason why you were absent from counting the lost and hopeless souls today?!!”</p><p>	Scorpion glanced at her fellow hell nymphs before answering the devil.</p><p>     	“Ye- yes...?” said Scorpion.</p><p>     	 Valafar shot up from his seat.</p><p>     	“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!!!!!!” he boomed, “HOW DARE YOU GO UP TO THE SURFACE REALM WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING ME DIRECTLY?!!!!! AND YOU’VE EVEN MISSED OUT ON DOING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TASKS OF YOUR JOB!!!!!!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA, HOW DISAPPOINTED AND HOSTILE YOU’VE MADE ME BECOME?!!!!!!”</p><p>     	“We’re sorry, sir!!” said Scorpion, “A- and if I may add, i- it was Chaos who forgot about our schedule!!”</p><p>     	“YOUR APOLOGIES ARE NOT WORTHY AT THE MOMENT!!!!!!!” said Valafar, “THEY HAVE NO MEANING NOW!!!!!!!!! AND FORGETFULNESS IS DEFINITELY *NOT* AN EXCUSE!!!! YOU KNOW THE RULES AROUND HERE!!!!!!!! YOU MUST FOLLOW THE SCHEDULE AND WAIT UNTIL *AFTER* YOU’VE COUNTED THE LOST SOULS!!!!!!!!”</p><p>     	The nymphs whimpered again and began to tremble very visibly.</p><p>           The devil’s royal advisor; Fritz, leaned over towards the devil and whispered to him while keeping his eyes glued to the hell nymphs.</p><p>     	“Uh, sire…? I- I suggest that you calm yourself and do them no physical harm.” Fritz said quietly, “Besides, everyone’s made their mistakes from time to time. I believe that you should give these nymphs a chance. Let’s not go to drastic measures right away. It was just a minor mishap...”</p><p>     	Valafar pondered about his suggestion for a long time, until he sighed and sat back down into his seat.</p><p>     	“Very well…” he said, having listened to his advisor for once, “On behalf of Fritz’s advice, I’ve decided to give you a chance and prevent you from being physically tormented for your absence.”</p><p>     	The nymphs all sighed with relief.</p><p>     	“Oh, thank you, sire…” said Scorpion, finally having the weight being lifted off of her shoulders.</p><p>     	“But understand clearly, that this is the only chance you’ll receive.” said Valafar, “I do not have time for any more mistakes happening around here.”</p><p>     	“Yes, sire…” Scorpion said with a nod, “Of course.”</p><p>     	“And you’ll still get your punishment for this.” Valafar said while crossing his legs and leaning back into his seat again, “For the time being… your punishment shall be going without *any* souls-”</p><p>     	“Aw what?! Are you serious?!!” Chaos complained.</p><p>     	“AND you shall be detained from going to the surface, until I allow you to! Is that clear?!” said Valafar.  </p><p>     	“Wha- this is absolute-!” said Chaos.</p><p>     	“SHHH!!!” said Scorpion and Terror, while they frantically waved their hands in front of themselves and shook their heads at Chaos.</p><p>     	“Excuse me…” said Valafar, giving the hell nymphs a dirty look, “I sure hope that none of you have a problem with how I run things around here…”</p><p>     	“But- mmmf!” Chaos was saying.</p><p>     	Both Scorpion and Terror immediately held their hands over Chaos’s mouth.</p><p>     	“No, no! Don’t be ridiculous, sire!!” Scorpion said, as she chuckled nervously, “Of course you’re a wonderful ruler!! Why would we think otherwise?!!”</p><p>     	“Hmm…” said Valafar, giving the nymphs a wary eyed look, “Very well then.”</p><p>     	Valafar looks over at the guards standing by the door.</p><p>     	Valafar nods his head as a signal for his guards to open up the doors.</p><p>     	“That is all the time we’ll have for now.” said Valafar, “Thank you for your cooperation, nymphs. You are now excused.”</p><p>     	“Yes, sir.” said Scorpion bowing, “Thank you, sir.”</p><p>     	“Farewell.” said Valafar.</p><p>     	“Yes, farewell your highness.” said Scorpion.</p><p>     	All three of the nymphs slowly turn their backs and float out of the room.</p><p>     	With that, the guards slowly closed the doors shut and continued guarding them.</p><p> </p><p>     	After they all left the throne chamber, the hell nymphs began to aimlessly roam through the castle halls.</p><p>     	All three of them let out a big sigh simultaneously.</p><p>     	“Oh boy…” said Terror as she sighed “We’ve really done it this time...”</p><p>     	“I told you we’d be in big trouble!!” said Scorpion, “Shit, we even got punished!!”</p><p>     	“Yeah, no souls at all?!!” said Chaos, “Who knows how long that’ll last?!! I’ve never even taken a break from stealing souls before!! I can’t even live without getting my hands on em’!! None of us can!! We’re just gonna starve!!! Just who the hell does he think he is, keeping this precious privilege away from us?!!”</p><p>     	“Shh!!!” said Scorpion, “Chaos, he might hear you!!”</p><p>     	“Just calm yourself, Chaos.” Terror said while patting her on the shoulder, “We’ll just have to try to give it our highest endeavor for now… that is until Satan decides to release us from this punishment. Hopefully soon.”</p><p>     	“Ugh, man…” Chaos said in a whining tone, “I know that we’re immortal and shit, but it’ll eventually get painful for us regardless.”</p><p>     	 “Yeah well thanks to your forgetful ass, WE’RE GONNA SPEND EVERY SINGLE DAY STARVING OURSELVES!!!” Scorpion said, as she suddenly grabbed Chaos’s shoulders and aggressively shook her back and forth, “ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, CHAOS?!!! ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY?!!!”</p><p>     	“Darling, darling! Please!!” Terror said as she made an attempt to pry Scorpion off of Chaos, “Calm yourself! If you argue with her any longer, your head will explode! In fact, you’ll just make yourself more hangry than anything else!! Just take deep breaths again, honey...”</p><p>    	Scorpion growled angrily at Chaos, as Terror was desperately restraining her with her own arms.</p><p>	Scorpion then began to breath in and out of her nose, through gritted teeth, as if she were hyperventilating.</p><p>	The entire time that this was happening, Chaos just silently stayed still and gave a blank stare at Scorpion and Terror.</p><p>	Eventually, Scorpion breaths started to ease down… and she was finally calmed.</p><p>	“There we go… that’s it, hun…” Terror nodded as she finally let go of Scorpion.</p><p>	Scorpion sighed and glared at Chaos.</p><p>	“How come you lied to us?” she asked in a soft but stern tone, “You said that you had taken care of everything. You told us that you had already counted those souls like you were supposed to, since it was your turn this week. So how come you lied? How come you forgot to count those souls before we left for the surface?”</p><p>	“Like I’ve said before,” Chaos said after rolling her eyes, “I had a rough night, alright? I just wasn’t lucky last night, and I couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t exactly my fault that my brain wasn’t working this morning!”</p><p>	Scorpion fought the urge to argue with Chaos again, but just sighed while massaging the bridge of her nose.</p><p>	“I’ve just about had it with you for the day.” she said.</p><p>	With this, both Terror and Chaos watched Scorpion float away and leave them behind in the middle of a wide hallway.</p><p> </p><p>     	Valafar sighed and massaged his forehead as he sunk down into his seat.  </p><p>     	“Why must I deal with these idiots?” he said, “I’ve already had enough of the stupidity of my other subjects.”</p><p>     	“Sire, they really are trying their best at doing their job…” said Fritz.</p><p>     	“IS MESSING UP ALL THE TIME DOING THEIR BEST?!!!!!!” Valafar suddenly snapped, which made Fritz jump back, “I am absolutely dead on my feet from hearing about the countless mistakes that my subjects have committed already!! And I’ve had enough of having to deal with it all the time!! Why do these idiots keep on messing up?!! Can’t they ever do their fucking job right?!!”</p><p>     	“Sire, please calm down…” said Fritz, “I- I suggest that you go for a stroll through your kingdom. It might even get your mind off of all this stress you’re having. I hear that it’s very good for your health.”</p><p>     	Valafar thought about this for a moment, and then sighed.</p><p>     	“Fritz, keep watch of the palace until I return…” he said, “I’ll be taking a walk through hell with my daughter.”</p><p>     	“As you wish, your highness.” Fritz said, with a single nod.</p><p>     	“Come along, Jezebeth.” Valafar said, while standing up from his throne.</p><p>     	“Yes, father.” said Jezebeth, as she stood up from her throne.</p><p>     	Valafar walked out of the throne chamber with his daughter silently following behind him.</p><p>     	Fritz sighed as he watched them leave the throne chamber.</p><p>     	Fritz was of course a fellow demon, and since he was the king’s advisor, he was always left in charge of the castle whenever the king was out.</p><p>     	Fritz was also in charge of all the royal subjects in the royal palace, and would sometimes have to go through the entire palace to check if all the subjects were doing their job.</p><p>     	He also did this just to make sure that nothing went wrong in the palace.</p><p>     	Fritz wore his long and untamed raven black hair in a low ponytail, had pale skin, had a single fang in his teeth, and had a pair of eyes where his right eye was a pink colored eyeball with a swirl in the middle, and his left eye was a black colored eyeball, with a blue glowing pupil in it.</p><p>     	Fritz wore a short sleeved black crop top, wore a pair of long and fingerless gloves where his right glove was dark pink and light pink striped, and his left glove was dark blue and light blue striped. He also wore a pair of long leggings that had the same design arrangements as the gloves, except his left leg was pink and dark pink striped and his right leg was blue and dark blue striped. He wore a black ripped up pair of overalls where both of his pant legs were pulled halfway up, and wore a pair of fancy and pointy black dress shoes which were colored blue at the tips and the heels.</p><p>     	Fritz was a very compassionate, soft hearted, trustworthy, courteous, loyal, and kind demon, apart from your typical ruthless demon.</p><p>	Whenever Fritz got to work as the devil’s royal advisor, he behaved in a more formal and mature manner.</p><p>	But once he had gotten a break from his job, the mask came off.</p><p>	In his spare time, Fritz was much more outgoing and would often do quirky activities such as singing along to one of his favorite songs while playing dress up with himself and using the nearest object as a microphone.</p><p>	Fritz was in fact, a really talented singer who only preferred to keep his hidden talent to himself.</p><p>	Nowadays, the songs that he chose to sing to himself were love songs, specifically for the reason that he had just started having a massive crush on the head servant of the palace.</p><p>     	Fritz was indeed a hopeless romantic and had always yearned to find love.</p><p>     	Fritz had a crush on a fellow male named Clovis. He crushed on him so hard to the point that his heart would beat at an alarming rate, and he was always shivering while not being able to stand up straight, whenever he came in contact with the head servant.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. How To Live</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Johnny is starting to get tired of performing on the streets everyday, so he decides to take initiative and find a job... and possible shelter.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Johnny had been walking through the streets for a very long time now.</p><p>     	Johnny was looking around at his surroundings as he was walking, and let out a sigh.</p><p>     	“This is lame…” he said to himself, “What am I gonna do? Walk around town while constantly asking for dough just by playing the fiddle until my soul turns to dust?”</p><p>     	Johnny let out a longer sigh.</p><p>     	“I mean, I love playing music, but…” he said, “I don’t think I can keep doing this my entire life.”</p><p>     	Johnny suddenly stopped walking, and turned around to face the direction behind him.</p><p>     	Johnny then glanced down at his feet, which only wore socks and no shoes.</p><p>     	“But I’m also not going to live back in that child prison either.” he said with a glare, “Jesus Christ, how did I even manage to survive that long in there?”</p><p>     	Johnny turned back around and continued walking.</p><p> </p><p>     	Johnny kept on walking while silently staring down at his feet, until he suddenly glanced up at a shop window that he happened to be passing by.</p><p>     	Johnny paused and began reading the sign that was posted on the shop windows.</p><p>     	The letters on the sign were written in large bold writing, reading, “NEED HELP!!! OPEN FOR HIRE!!!”</p><p>     	Johnny began to think for a moment, and looked through the shop window, seeing that the shop had some dim lights turned on and also saw that nobody was even in the room.</p><p>     	“Hm…” he said, as he began thinking of a different alternative for how he was going to make money.</p><p>     	Johnny walked backwards to see another sign that he hadn’t noticed before.</p><p>     	The sign was hanging right above him from the edge of the roof above the entrance to the shop.</p><p>     	The sign read, “OPEN!!” but the “N” in the word, “Open” wasn’t in great shape.</p><p>     	The letter was in fact, hanging upside down from the sign.</p><p>     	Johnny then looked at the front door in front of him and breathed in and out, before slowly taking a step into the shop.</p><p> </p><p>     	Johnny slowly opened the door, causing the bell above him to start ringing loudly, and began looking around as he slowly crept into the shop.</p><p>     	“Uh, he- hello?” he said, “Is this shop actually open?”</p><p>     	Johnny then began to slowly close the door behind him as he continued walking around the unfrequented shop.</p><p>     	“Uh…” he said, “I- I saw your sign… I thought that maybe I could, lend a hand or, something…?”</p><p>     	Suddenly, the sound of some very loud snoring coming from behind the front desk startled Johnny.</p><p>     	Johnny slowly turned around and began to slowly approach the front desk and lean over it.</p><p>     	Johnny saw that there was an elderly man sleeping on the floor with his upper body against the wall.</p><p>     	“Ah…” said Johnny, “Alright then…”</p><p>     	Johnny then looked around again, and began to reach over the counter and gently poke the old man’s cheek.</p><p>     	The man just snorted and continued snoring, still remaining fast asleep.</p><p>     	Johnny did it again, but he got the same result. </p><p>     	Johnny then sighed and began to slowly turn around and walk away from the counter.</p><p>     	Johnny was just about to reach for the door handle to exit the shop, until he became startled once again, by the elderly man suddenly shouting in his sleep. </p><p>     	“HEY YOU!!!” the old man hollered, “GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS, OFF OF MY PRIZED PIG!!!! SHE’S MINE, I TELL YA!!!!!!!! GET AWAY FROM MY PIG, I TELL YA!!!!!!!!! I’LL CALL THE COPS ON YOU, I TELL YA!!!!!!!!! FUCK YOU I TELL YA!!!!!! Ffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuck yeeeeeeeeeeee…..”</p><p>     	The old man’s voice started fading, and he eventually dozed off.</p><p>     	Johnny raised his eyebrow at him and slowly turned back towards the doorknob.</p><p>     	Once again, the old man almost gave Johnny a heart attack. </p><p>     	This time, the old man began snorting as he finally got up and began rubbing his eyes awake. </p><p>     	Johnny was frozen with his hand on the doorknob as he silently watched the old man waking up.</p><p>     	The old man began stretching and yawning before he slowly bent down below the counter to retrieve his glasses and put them on.</p><p>     	After the old man had cracked the bones in his back, he then sighed, and finally noticed that Johnny was standing at the door about to leave.</p><p>     	“Oh! Hey there young fella!!” he said with a friendly wave, “Sorry about that! I must’ve slept on the job again! So what’s your name?”</p><p>     	“Uuuh…” said Johnny, “J- Johnny…?”</p><p>     	“Hey there, Johnny boy!!” said the old man, “I’m Ralph! Is there anything that I can do for ya?”</p><p>     	“Uuuh…” said Johnny, as he slowly walked back towards the counter, “Ye- yeah… uh…”</p><p>     	Johnny began scratching the back of his head, as he spoke to Ralph.</p><p>     	“I, uh… saw your sign out there…” he said, throwing his thumb back at the door, “And I just thought that maybe you could use a hand...? I mean, I figured, since… I don’t have anywhere to go.”</p><p>     	“Oh, is that so?” said Ralph, “And why’s that? You lost?”</p><p>     	“Uh…” said Johnny, “N- no…”</p><p>     	“Bankrupt?” said Ralph.</p><p>	Johnny shrugged and shook his head.</p><p>     	“No, not really…” he said, “I- I just… don’t have a home. At all.”</p><p>     	“Ah… a destitute then?” said Ralph.</p><p>     	“Ye- uh…” Johnny shrugged again, with a facial expression that made him look unsure, “I guess so?”</p><p>     	“Eh, no worries young man.” Ralph said, waving his hand, “I’ll just hire you right now! A poor little soul like you needs the support!”</p><p>     	“So, I can work here?” said Johnny.</p><p>     	“Yep!! Absolutely!!” Ralph said excitedly, “And thank you for offering a hand, by the way! I could always use the assistance around here. Especially since… I’m the only man in this store.”</p><p>     	“Awesome!” Johnny said.</p><p>          Suddenly a thought occurred to him.</p><p>          “Aaaaaaaaand, uuh… I don’t mean to be asking for too much, but,” Johnny said, “I also… kinda need a place to stay. Do you happen to know about any place where I could possibly stay for the night…?”</p><p>     	“Ah, you’re not asking for too much, at all.” said Ralph, “Of course I’ll give you a place to stay! I actually live here! My apartment is just upstairs. You can feel free to crash into my daughters old bedroom. And you don’t have to worry about how awkward it would be if she came back. She’s busy with her own life.”</p><p>     	Ralph stretched out his back again.</p><p>     	“Wow, thanks man!” Johnny said while laying a hand onto his chest, “This is great. I-... I honestly can’t believe this…”</p><p>     	“Nooooooooo problem, young man.” said Ralph, “I’m always pleased to give benefit to those who need it.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Johnny's Origin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The title of the chapter speaks for itself (lol).</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That night, the two guys both sat in separate couches in the living room of Ralph’s apartment.</p><p>     	They were both sitting across from each other, while drinking cups of tea. </p><p>     	“So, tell me young man…” said Ralph, setting his teacup down after drinking from it, “Tell me your story. Tell me how you ended up living by yourself. What happened?”</p><p>     	Johnny began to think for a while, as he took a large sip out of his teacup, and sighed.</p><p>     	“Uuuh…” he said, “Wu- well… i-it’s a pretty long story.”</p><p>          The old man leaned forward and leaned both of his elbows onto his knees, before leaning his chin onto his fists. </p><p>           Johnny silently nodded, taking the hint that Ralph was waiting to hear what he had to say. </p><p>           Johnny let out a deep breath, before telling his story.</p><p>           “I was given away to an orphanage because my parents were… young.” Johnny said, “I was given away when I was just an infant, and ever since that day, I’ve been living in that foster home… without ever getting adopted.”</p><p>     	Johnny took another sip of his tea and continued.</p><p>     	“...And as life went on, I began learning how to play the violin when I was about eight years old. I also started singing around that age.” said Johnny, “But uh… after I turned sixteen, which is the current age that I’m at, I uh… started to… not fully approve of my foster home anymore.”</p><p>     	“Really?” said Ralph, “Why’s that?”</p><p>     	“I- I don’t know, I just…” Johnny said as he shrugged, “I just started to grow more and more uncomfortable with that atmosphere around me. I didn’t want to live there anymore. I started to have some sort of… animosity to the foster home that I lived in. So, what was my solution to prevent myself from living a distasteful life? I simply got dressed, packed my duffle bags, took my violin case, and bolted out of the building one night.”</p><p>     	Johnny suddenly fell silent and blankly stared at the carpet on the floor, thinking back to the moment he ran away.</p><p>     	“You ran away?” said Ralph.</p><p>     	It took a moment for Johnny to respond until he finally sighed and gave a slow nod.</p><p>     	“Yup…” he said, while nodding, “That’s what I did…”</p><p>     	“How long ago was this?” said Ralph.</p><p>     	“Uuuh…” said Johnny, “I don’t know. I guess it was about… like, 5 weeks ago?”</p><p>     	“Wow,” said Ralph, “You managed to survive on the streets all by yourself for that long?”</p><p>     	Johnny slowly nodded his head again.</p><p>     	Ralph’s heart sank, as he started giving Johnny a sympathetic stare.</p><p>     	“Well, boy…” he said, feeling pity for Johnny, “Since you don’t have anywhere to go, and since it seems that you’ve been through quite a lot lately… I won’t mind letting you stay with me.”</p><p>           Johnny perked up and blinked his eyes in bewilderment.</p><p>     	“Stay?” said Johnny, “You mean…”</p><p>     	“Yup.” Ralph said with a definitive nod, “You can stay here with me as long as you like. Besides, I’d be really happy to finally have company around here.”</p><p>     	Johnny smiled at the old man sitting across from him.</p><p>     	Johnny didn’t know what to say. In fact, he was overwhelmed. He was overwhelmed to the point that something at the back of his mind made him think that this might be a dream. But thankfully, this was happening in real time. After living in squalor for 5 weeks, he was finally able to find a warm place he could call home.</p><p> </p><p>	It just seemed too good to be true…...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Things start to get interesting...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That same night, Johnny was now sleeping in the bedroom that used to belong to Ralph’s daughter.</p><p>     	Ralph was just across the hall from this room, sleeping in his own bed.</p><p>     	As Johnny was sleeping, there was a window just above his head.</p><p>     	The moonlight was shining right through the window, until the shadowy figure of a person crept up against the outside of that window.</p><p>     	The figure’s eyes started darting around the room, until it glanced down and eyed at where Johnny was sleeping. </p><p>           Once the figure laid eyes on Johnny, a wide and sinister grin spread across their face.</p><p>     	The grinning figure appeared to have fangs in their teeth and they turned to gesture to someone who seemed to be with them.</p><p>     	As it turns out, they weren’t alone, for three more shadowy figures appeared on either side of the figure who gestured to them. </p><p>     	They all looked at each other and began to chuckle with smug looks on their faces.</p><p>     	One of them slowly opens the window and carefully crawls into the room.</p><p>	The creature began floating and hovered right above Johnny.</p><p>     	Johnny was sound asleep with his arm dangling from the bed and holding onto the handle of his violin case.</p><p>     	The one that was hovering above Johnny began to chuckle.</p><p>     	The figure hovering above Johnny slowly begins to move in closer and closer to him. </p><p>     	The figure chuckled again before they suddenly scooped up Johnny and flew out of the window with him in their arms.</p><p> </p><p>     	As the figure was flying away with Johnny in their arms, they also held their hand over his mouth.</p><p>     	Johnny was immediately wide awake and muffling, while trying to wriggle out of the creature’s arms. </p><p> </p><p>     	Johnny was later flown onto a rooftop and the shadow figures all circled around him.</p><p>The one who had been holding him, now held him by the arms with a tight grip. </p><p>     	Johnny’s heart was beating at an alarming rate. Everything was happening so fast and so suddenly. He was so scared to the point that he almost felt like he was about to cry. He was also sweating at his temples.</p><p>     	“Wha- what the hell is going on?!!” he exclaimed, his voice sounding as if it was nearly about to break.</p><p>     	All of the black shadow figures transformed out of their shadow forms and revealed themselves, as they all continued laughing.</p><p>     	The one that held onto Johnny, had 12 feet of raven black hair worn down, had pale skin, and had a pair of red eyes.</p><p>           The black hair even floated around her while she moved.</p><p>     	She wore a black sleeveless jumpsuit, a lacy black choker with a red gemstone hanging from it, a red belt wrapped around her waist, and a pair of black knee high boots with heels on them.</p><p>	She also had long red fingernails.</p><p>     	Her name was Narcissa, and she was the oldest sister.</p><p>     	Narcissa was the leader of her group of sisters that were now surrounding Johnny.</p><p> </p><p>     	The second oldest sister was Desdemona.</p><p>     	Desdemona had short white hair, pale skin, and had dark blue eyes.</p><p>	She also had freckles on her cheeks and shoulders. </p><p>     	Desdemona’s hair was worn in a wedge cut (short at the back, long at the front).</p><p>     	Desdemona wore a pair of long black silk gloves and a short dark gray dress with a picture of a black dripping heart on her chest. Her dress also had black frills at the bottom of the skirt area and she also wore a pair of black stockings with black frills at the top and a pair of black high heeled mary janes. </p><p> </p><p>     	The third sister was Ebony.</p><p>     	Ebony was actually a twin and also the twin that came first.</p><p>     	Ebony also had 12 feet of raven black hair that floated around, just like her sister Narcissa, and only wore it half up-half down with half of her hair tied up in a light pink scrunchie in a high ponytail. </p><p>           Along with the raven black hair, Ebony had pale skin with freckles on her shoulders, and had light blue eyes. </p><p>     	Ebony wore a pair of short, black ripped up overalls, wore a strapless black undershirt, wore a pair of long striped fingerless gloves where her hands were black and her entire arms had stripes on them (her left arm was black and pink striped, and her right arm was white and black striped), wore black nail polish, wore black and white stripes on her left leg, and wore a pair of black flats. </p><p> </p><p>     	The second twin, who was also the last sister, was named Darcy.</p><p>     	Darcy had short raven black hair that she wore down, with her bang covering one eye.</p><p>     	Darcy also had pale skin and light blue eyes.</p><p>     	Darcy wore a long sleeve black shirt with a crimson red shirt underneath. </p><p>	Darcy also wore a pair of long and shiny black leggings, wore a pair of red high heels and wore long fake black nails. 	</p><p> </p><p>     	Narcissa let out a maniacal laugh.</p><p>     	“You humans worry too much!!” she responded, “Are you always petrified this easily?!!”</p><p>     	“Uuuuh…” said Johnny, “I- I-... wh- what’s going on?!”</p><p>     	“Oh, don’t worry pumpkin…” said Darcy, “We’re just gonna have a little fun if you don’t mind… no big deal.”</p><p>     	“Uuuuuh…” said Johnny, “Whu- what kind of fun exactly?”</p><p>     	All the sisters laughed again.</p><p>     	“What even are you?” said Johnny, “A- And *who* are you?”</p><p>     	“Well, I’m Desdemona, this is Narcissa, this is Ebony, and that’s Darcy!!” said Desdemona, gesturing at each sister as they were introduced, “Now what’s your name?!”</p><p>     	“Uh…” said Johnny, “I- I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with giving you that answer, to be honest...”</p><p>     	“Aw, that’s a shame.” said Desdemona, pretending to look disappointed, “I told you ours.”</p><p>          “Well it’s not like it’s important for us to know, anyways…” said Narcissa, giving her sister some slight attitude, “Especially for the reason that we’ve captured this human.”</p><p>          “Well, it doesn’t hurt to be a little curious now, does it?” Desdemona said with a shrug.</p><p>          Johnny was just glancing back and forth between the two, while both of these sisters were having their unnecessary bickering.</p><p>          “Uuuuuuuuuuh, will you guys please tell me why I’m here…?” Johnny quietly said in a nervous tone.</p><p>          “Aw, guys look!” Ebony suddenly said to her sisters, while turning her attention to Johnny, “We’re scaring the shit out of him! Also! Also! Doesn’t he look adorable when he’s petrified?!!”</p><p>          Ebony floated closer to Johnny’s face, causing Narcissa to get stunned by the sudden movement and let go of Johnny’s arms while moving out of Ebony’s way.</p><p>          Johnny leaned away from Ebony’s face which was only a few inches away from his.</p><p>	Johnny also started blushing since deep down he did honestly think that Ebony was a little attractive.</p><p>	“I like that look on you…” she said in a sinister but sultry tone, “You should wear it more often.”</p><p>          “Ebony, stop flirting with the man…” Narcissa said while rolling her eyes, “You’re wasting our time.”</p><p>          “Soooooooorry!” Ebony said while turning to her sister with a small chuckle, “I just can’t get over how adorable his frightened little face is! And frightened faces are what makes me so excited and flustered after all! I can’t help it!!” </p><p>     	While saying this with excitement in her voice, Ebony suddenly grabbed Johnny’s cheeks and began pressing them together.</p><p>           She also decided to shake his head, side to side.</p><p>     	“Uh, please don’t do that…” Johnny muffled while Ebony did this.</p><p>	Narcissa growled impatiently. </p><p>     	“OH, COME THE FUCK ON!! Can’t we just do it already?!” she suddenly snapped, “Everything you guys are doing right now is a huge waste of time!! Just shut your damn mouths so we can move on already!!”</p><p>Ebony rolled her eyes and nodded her head to the side, as if to say "Jeez, alright then..."</p><p>     	“Move on with *what*?!” said Johnny, “Seriously, what the fuck is going on here?!! What the hell are you gonna do to me?!!”</p><p>     	Suddenly all four sisters burst out laughing.</p><p>	The uproarious laughter that erupted from their mouths sent chills down Johnny’s spine.</p><p>     	“Your time is up kid…” Narcissa said with a menacing grin, “Just think pleasant thoughts… and this will all be over before you know it.”</p><p>     	All four sisters slowly closed in on Johnny in a circular formation.</p><p>	All of their fangs started to grow a bit longer and their eyes started to glow bright red.</p><p>     	Johnny whimpered while turning his head at all of the hissing vampires surrounding him.</p><p>     	Suddenly, out of nowhere, an arm wrapped around Johnny’s abdomen, forcefully shoved the sisters aside with their other arm while running towards the edge of the roof… before leaping off of it.</p><p>           Johnny screamed all the way down, until the shadow figure holding him suddenly started flying, right as they were about to hit the ground.</p><p>           All four sisters rushed to the edge of the rooftop to observe what just happened, and Narcissa started to glare and growl angrily while clenching her fists, once she spotted the shadow figure flying away with Johnny at low ground level. </p><p>	The figure flying at ground level was just so the other humans who reside in this town could not see them through windows.</p><p> </p><p>     	Johnny kept on whimpering as he turned his head in the direction behind him, and saw that all four sisters were flying after him.</p><p>     	“GIVE US OUR HUMAN!!!!!!!!” Narcissa shouted.</p><p>     	The shadow figure turned their head to look back at Narcissa.</p><p>     	The shadow figure gave a death stare at Narcissa and then turned their head away.</p><p>     	Narcissa growled as her blood started boiling.</p><p>     	Once she eventually caught up to the shadowy figure, Narcissa came up behind them, and suddenly latched onto Johnny’s ankle with both hands.</p><p>     	Johnny let out a yelp when this happened.</p><p>     	The shadow figure gasped quietly, and tried tugging Johnny away from Narcissa, with both of their arms wrapped around Johnny’s chest.</p><p>     	Narcissa growled again and tugged back on Johnny’s ankle.</p><p>     	The two then began to play tug of war, while tugging Johnny back and forth.</p><p>     	“You always do this!!” Narcissa complained, “Why do you always ruin this for us?!! It isn’t fair!! Just let go, asshole!!”</p><p>     	The shadow figure kept on glaring at Narcissa.</p><p>     	“Just let us have this human!!” said Narcissa.</p><p>     	Narcissa grunts while tugging on Johnny’s ankle.</p><p>     	“We had him first, damn it!!” she said as she pulled on Johnny’s ankle with all her strength.</p><p>     	The shadow figure grunts, as they forcefully tug Johnny away from Narcissa, and kick their foot into Narcissa’s face, causing her to forcefully be pushed away. </p><p>	“Ow! Fuck!!” Narcissa winced and covered her nose by cupping her hands over it.</p><p>          Narcissa groaned in pain while closing her eyes tightly, instead of preceding to follow the shadowy figure. </p><p>          Once Narcissa opened her eyes, she saw that the shadow figure had already escaped with Johnny, and was absolutely nowhere to be found.</p><p>          Narcissa glared and growled with frustration, while slowly taking her hands off of her face.</p><p>          Narcissa gritted her teeth.</p><p>          Even her nose had a small bruise on it and a small trickle of blood, running from her nostril.</p><p>	Narcissa slowly started to trace her fingers on the blood that was dripping from her nose.</p><p>          “That fucking bitch…” she said in a firm and quiet tone, her voice filled with absolute rage and loathing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Outcasts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Johnny discovers the identity of the mysterious creature who saved him... and is surprised to find out that he's already met them in the past.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After flying for quite a while, the shadow figure finally stops and breaths in and out from exhaustion. </p><p>     	The figure observes their surroundings, finding themselves in the middle of a forest.</p><p>     	The shadow figure then looks down at Johnny, who stayed fearfully still while breathing heavily.</p><p>     	Once they decided it was safe to set Johnny down, Johnny immediately turned and backed away from the shadow figure.</p><p>Johnny held both of his hands out in front of him defensively, after putting the strap of his violin over his shoulders.</p><p>     	“Who… and what the hell… are you?” Johnny said, as he continued breathing in and out.</p><p>     	The shadow figure slowly revealed himself, by making his shadow form disappear, so that he was no longer just a black, misty, silhouette figure. </p><p>          The shadow form was magically deactivated by the black shadow being ‘washed down’ into black mist, which revealed a young looking man wearing a long black hooded cape.</p><p>     	“Jagger.” he said.</p><p>           “I’m sorry, who?” Johnny asked.</p><p>           Jagger sighed as he finally pulled the hood off of his head, fully revealing his face.</p><p>           “Jagger.” he repeated, “That’s my name.”</p><p>     	Jagger wore his long raven black hair down, wore a black and red striped button down vest, wore a black button down shirt underneath, wore a raven black necktie, wore a long sleeve black tuxedo jacket that was ripped up at the bottom and had a vampire collar, wore a pair of short black gloves where only his index fingers were visible, had black nails, wore a pair of long black pants, wore a red ribbon tied around his waist, and wore a pair of black shiny dress shoes.</p><p> </p><p>     	“Oh…” said Johnny, “Okay, and uh… what- what are you exactly?”</p><p>     	“I’m a vampire.” said Jagger, “Just like my little sisters who tried to attack you.”</p><p>     	“Wha- I- I’m sorry, you’re a…?” said Johnny.</p><p>     	“VAMPIRE!” Jagger said, in a loud and slow tone that sounded as if he was talking to a senior citizen.</p><p>     	“WHAT?!” Johnny said in a sudden panic.</p><p>     	Johnny quickly backed away and hit his back against a tree, then shielded his face with both of his arms.</p><p>     	“A- are you trying to hurt me too?!” he said, “Please, I don’t wanna be eaten!!”</p><p>     	Jagger silently stared at Johnny for a minute with a deadpan look on his face, and then sighed while rolling his eyes.</p><p>     	“Jesus Christ…” he said to himself as he did this, “Kid, I’m not gonna do anything to ya. And we don’t even eat-”</p><p>     	“Oh, hell no!! I’m not falling for that shit!!” said Johnny, “Just stay away from me please!!”</p><p>     	“Hey, you’re welcome for saving your ass!!” Jagger said, gesturing to Johnny, “Is this what I get for a thank you?!”</p><p>     	Johnny thought for a while as he stared up at Jagger and then sighed.</p><p>	Although he was still hesitant to trust this vampire, Johnny figured it was alright to play it cool for the time being, since Jagger hasn’t done anything harmful to him so far. Johnny also made the mental note that if Jagger were to suddenly pounce on him, he would whack him in the head with his violin case and book it.</p><p>     	“Uh…” he said, slowly nodding his head, “R- right… you’re right, I’m sorry. Thank you for saving me…”</p><p>     	“Yeah, those psychopaths would’ve sucked the life out of you!!” said Jagger, “You’re welcome…” he then said, while crossing his arms.</p><p>     	The two both stayed silent for a while, as Johnny observed his surroundings before looking back up at Jagger.</p><p>     	“So, uh…” he said while scratching the back of his head, “Those were your sisters?”</p><p>     	“Yeah…” Jagger said, sounding as if he was ashamed of this fact, “And they’re all a big pain in the ass. They go to god knows where and constantly kidnap humans every night, just so they could consume their vital fluids.”</p><p>     	“But wouldn’t you be doing that too?” said Johnny, “Why did you even save me?”</p><p>     	“Because…” Jagger said, while glancing off to the side, “I just don’t approve of that kind of thing anymore. It’s true that I have done the same thing alongside my sisters for quite some time… but… I guess you could say that I eventually grew out of it. I don’t know what it was exactly, but something made me realize that… eradicating humans at random just for our amusement and satisfaction was wrong. After I came to that realization, I decided to run away and distance myself from my family. They were disappointed in me. They hated the fact that I changed and was no longer a ruthless vampire like they wanted me to be. So ever since I ran away and cut ties, I decided to try and make peace with the humans, rather than doing what I used to do.”</p><p>     	“Really?” said Johnny, “Huh… so you’re a pacifist vampire then?”</p><p>	“More or less.” Jagger shrugged while nodding his head to the side.</p><p>	Johnny gave a look of confusion.</p><p>	“More or less?” he said.</p><p>     	“Yeah, well,” Jagger said with another nod, “The thing is, my sisters and I have this… prodigious sibling rivalry nowadays. Our interactions typically involve them kidnapping a human, me catching them in the act, some fists being thrown, and then I steal the human back from them and return the human home safely.”</p><p>     	“Oh, I see…” Johnny said, “So I suppose that I have nothing to fear, right? Since you appear to be some sort of… human savior or something.”</p><p>	“I mean, ‘human savior’ is one way to put it…” Jagger said with a shrug, “But I assure you that you do not have to fear me. Besides, if I really were like my sisters, then surely you would’ve been a corpse by now. Also, I would not have just said that if I were someone with evil intentions.”</p><p>	Johnny nodded his head to the side as if to say, “Yeah, fair point.”</p><p>	Jagger glanced behind him while scratching the back of his neck.</p><p>     	“So, I never really caught your name…” said Jagger, “What is it?”</p><p>     	“Uh…” said Johnny, “It’s Johnny.”</p><p>     	“Oh, okay.” said Jagger, “Cause’ I don’t know if you remembered me, but… we met before.”</p><p>     	“Wait what?” said Johnny, “We did?”</p><p>	“Yup.” Jagger said, “It was at that diner owned by one of my great friends, whom I’ve saved from my sisters one night. I was sitting right next to ya drinking a mug of beer, remember? I wore a dirty trench coat and a fedora?”</p><p>	After he turned away, Johnny thought long and hard about a past interaction he’s had with a man in a trench coat and a fedora. Until he suddenly remembered what Jagger was referring to, and gasped.</p><p>	“Jagger…” he recollected, “That’s right… that was the name of the guy sitting next to me…”</p><p>	Johnny turned back to Jagger.</p><p>	“And that guy was…” he said, before pointing up at Jagger, “You?”</p><p>	Jagger nodded.</p><p>	“That’s right.” he said, “I’m surprised to know that you did remember after all.”</p><p>	This became very surreal for Johnny.</p><p>	“Holy shit…” he said, “So… that whole time… I was talking and sitting right next to a legitimate vampire...?”</p><p>	Johnny laid a hand upon his forehead, in disbelief.</p><p>	“Wh- what are the odds?” he said, “A- and… th- this isn’t some weird ass dream… right?”</p><p>	“Unfortunately no.” Jagger said, “The whole kidnapping scenario actually happened to you.”</p><p>	“Wow…” Johnny said, still at a total loss for words, “This… this whole scenario… this whole new discovery of what I thought to be a mythical species… this entire situation just came out of nowhere. Even now, I’m not so sure if I can believe what’s been happening.”</p><p>	“It’ll certainly take awhile to adjust to all of this.” Jagger said, “But in the meantime, how about we get started on finding you some shelter? As of right now, I really don’t think it is a good idea to return to the house that you were kidnapped from.”</p><p>	“Why not?”</p><p>	“Well because they might just find you again.” Jagger said, “They’re probably just roaming around through that same area, trying to search for us. What I usually do when I save a human being is find some other place to stay safe and wait it out. Once I find out that my sisters are no longer within the vicinity of that person’s hometown, then I’ll return them home safely and leave them be. And then I’ll recommend that they protect their home with anti-vampire artifacts.”</p><p>	“Oooh, gotcha.” Johnny said, “Sooooo… where should we go now?”</p><p>	Jagger let out an exasperated “Pfft...”</p><p>     	“Let’s just find you some shelter.” he said, “And we’ll make sure that it’s located in a place where they won’t find you.”</p><p>     	Johnny sighed and nodded.</p><p>     	“Okay…” he said.</p><p>	Jagger started walking past Johnny.</p><p>     	“C’mon, let’s hit the road.” said Jagger, gesturing for Johnny to follow him, “And get as far away as possible.”</p><p>     	With that, the two both began walking through the dirt trails of the forest.</p><p>           Just as Johnny starts walking side by side with Jagger, he glances up at him, wondering why someone like him would go out of their way and take the time to save and help a runaway orphan from the streets.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey so... here's another original story of mine! I started writing this one back in 2016 and am currently trying to work at editing and re writing some chapters now sooooo hopefully I'll be able to do the revamped version some justice. Because I'm revamping this entire story, it will take some time for me to do updates. Anyways, I really hope you guys enjoy this one! Please feel free to leave any criticism, questions, or any other comment down below! I love reading feedback and learning how I can improve on my writing! :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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